Roundabout for aquatic use.



R. L. KOHLER.

ROUNDABOUT FOR AQUATIC USE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH C0,, WASHINGTON, D. C.

R. L. KOHLER.

ROUNDABOUT FOR AQUATIC USE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1915.

Patented 001.12, 1915.

2 SHEETSv-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANDORAPH (IO-,WASHINOTDN, D. c.

UNTED STATES PATEN OFTQE.

ROBERT L. KOI-ILER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIG-NOR TO THE SEA SWING COMPANY,-

OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ROUNDABOUT FOR AQUATIC USE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

Application filed February 10, 1915. Serial No. 7,425.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT L. KOHLER, citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roundabouts for Aquatic Use, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to roundabouts for aquatic use, and has for its object to provide an improved device of this kind adapted particularly for the use. of bathers, for amusement purposes, thed'evice comprising an elevated turntable with slings or carriers suspended therefrom, which the bathers can take hold of or sit in while they are carried through the water. The machine is provided with certain novel features with respect to the movement produced, such as a swaying action and a lift and drop into the water, as will more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the apparatus. F i 2 is a top plan View of the turntable. Fig. 3 is a detail of the basin. Fig. 4 is a detail enlarged, of the central part of the turntable. Fig. 5 is a fragmental View illustrating one of the slings. Fig. 6 is a plan of part of the turntable.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 8 indicates a basin the bottom 8 of which may be inclined as shown. This basin or pool may be made of concrete, and may be provided at one side with a water gate 9 operated by a lever 10 and controlling a gateway 8*. This is useful when thedevice is located in tide water, as by closing the gate the water can be held in the basin during low tide.

A base 11 is erected in the basin and supports a frame work or tower 12 at the top of which are mounted upper and lower bearing plates 13 the former of which is rotated by a shaft 21 which stands in the tower and is driven by a motor 23 and intermediate gears 22. The upper end 20 of the shaft is preferably squared where it passes through the upper plate 13.

The horizontal wheel or turntable comprises lower compression bars or spokes 19, upper tension bars 18, and a hexagonal rim l7, suitably braced. The inner ends of the bars 19 are connected to the upper plate 13 by bolts 19 The inner ends of the tension bars 18 are connected to a ring 16 which is spaced from and surrounds the upper end of the shaft. This ring rests on a stiff coiled spring 15 which is supported by a frame consisting of an upper plate 14*, a lower plate 14* resting on the bearing plate, and upright bars 14: connecting the plates 14 and 14 The purpose of this construction is to permit the wheel to swing or sway slightly from one side to theother, in a ver tical plane.

The bathers are carried by slings or carriers 32 in which they may sit or which they may take hold of. These slings are attached to the opposite ends of bow springs 31 which are connected by a swivel at the middle to a chain 30, the branches 29 of which are connected to the rim 17.

A wheel or roller 26 is mounted at the outer end of a forked bar 25, in horizontal position, and this bar is hung by hangers from a beam 24 supported by the tower, and the bar 25 is connected by a link 27 to a lever 28 fulcrumed on the tower in convenient position for manipulation by an operator on the platform at the base of the tower.

In use, when the turntable is revolved the bathers in the sling 32 will be carried through the water, and by reason of the spring connection at the top the turntable will tilt or sway as it is rotated, the spring supports of the slings contributing to produce an up and down motion as well as the circular motion through the water, because of the different weight or movements of the bathers. Also, by throwing out the wheels 26 the chains 29 of the slings will strike the wheel, causing the slings to sud-' denly lift and drop, thereby lifting the bathers from the water and dropping them into the same. The device thus effectively serves its intended amusement purposes. The double suspension provided by the branch chains 29 attached in substantially the same circumferential line serves to prevent contact of the bathers, while permitting them to swing out more or less in consequence of centrifugal force, and the gen eral result is to cause the bathei's to swing into and out of the water as the turntable revolves.

What I claim as new is:

1. The combination of a central support ing tower, a turntable, a spring support between the tower and the turntable, to permit the latter to tilt vertically, and carriers hanging from the outer part of the turntable.

2. The combination of a central supporting tower, a turntable mounted thereon, slings, cables connecting the slings and the turntable, and a wheel supported in the path of the cables in horizontal position for the cables to ride thereover and thereby lift and drop the slings as the turntable rotates.

3. The combination of a central supporting tower, a turntable mounted thereon, carriers suspended by cables from the rim of the turntable, and a horizontal wheel movable into and out of the path of the cables, and adapted to engage the same to lift and drop the carriers.

4. The combination of a central supporting tower, a turntable mounted thereon and including a central part having a spring connection to the rim thereof whereby the rim may tilt vertically as it rotates, and

carriers suspended from said rim.

The combination of a central supporting tower, a vertical shaft therein, and a turntable mounted on the tower and including a bearing plate, compression bars pivoted thereto, a rim fastened to the outer ends of said bars, an upper ring surroundingand spaced from said shaft, tension bars between the ring and the rim, and a coiled spring between the bearing plate and the said ring.

6. The combination of a central supporting tower, a vertical shafttherein, a turntable mounted on the tower and driven by the shaft and a yielding connectionbetween the turntable and the shaft, permitting the former to rock with respect to the latter, as it rotates. i

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in presence of tWo witnesses.

' ROBERT'L. KOHLER.

Witnesses CHARLES CRnssY, ROY E. DUER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents,

' Washington, D. C. Y 

